SOULMATES
I.
Walking in the park at 12 on a Sunday, watching
the trees and people writhing
how could they have risen
so early? I nearly dropped
my Cherry Delight ice cream
with blue M&Ms
(The tree branches cross-hatched
above our straw hats hiding
us from sorrowful sky
us, naked
and ashamed)
Paul Moody via Unsplash
Dogs raced like shooting stars
in a cold December night,
fur like gold
It was a good Friday to eat
white meat
and surely
a better use of
my time than
spearing myself
fingers hot face
in agony in
rapture as you looked on from the
ceiling and I knew you’d
leave me behind
II.
my head is empty and tummy full when
he is not around.
my speech is silence come
from silence. was I always broken?
as though I
was crafted
from his finest
earth (adambone) yet I am
somehow
as nothing as
thinnest daisy skin
as nothing
as a cancelled plan.
because I like the way the sky smells
and it’ll be just us girls
mother is warm! she beckons
beyond responsibility, beyond
the threshold of life.
hello, you! round
what bushes have
you been hiding, mom?
behind what
roses have you swept
your hair’s purple cape,
skin white
as angel dreams?
let us hold hands and stroll, just a minute, just thirty.
III.
Is it okay to feel unwhole
When he isn’t around?
Like I’ll never be full
Without someone beside.
15 years of effortless education
Now I’m going to Candyland.
A wavy mirage of a place
Feverish letters holding
because I like the way the sky smells
and it’ll be just us girls
this half of me,
this sixteenth of you
Iwona Castiello d’Antonio via Unsplash
Ambiguous expensive meaning.
Adolescent girls and
Temporary ones.
We catch fish in
River of hopes
Blue Gushers and
Red and white
Candy Cane dreams.
Does it destroy.
To never be alone.
I hope I can grow without
Loneliness, my vitamins.
My sweety sweet cereal
Is brittle, is cold
Sugar crystals bite into
My head
ALYSSA RANOLA
Alyssa Ranola graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of California, Davis. After her time at City Year, teaching focus groups in under-resourced schools in Sacramento, she became interested in novels advocating for inclusivity and equity. She attained an editing certificate as an acquisitions editor at The Borgen Project and hopes to edit young adult fiction for Asian American readership in Los Angeles. She currently lives in Fairfield, California with her family and three dogs.